The 2024 Las Vegas Raiders season felt like a chaotic game of musical chairs played at 100 miles per hour. Honestly, if you blinked, you probably missed a quarterback change or a new face sliding into the secondary. While the 4-13 record paints a pretty grim picture of the season as a whole, looking at the raiders roster 2024 depth chart through a purely statistical lens misses the real story of how Antonio Pierce tried to keep this ship upright.
It wasn’t just about the wins. It was about seeing who actually belonged in the "Silver and Black" for the long haul.
The Quarterback Carousel that Defined the Year
Let's talk about the elephant in the room. The QB room was basically a revolving door. Gardner Minshew II started the year with high hopes, winning the job in camp over the young gun Aidan O'Connell. Minshew put up some decent yards—2,013 to be exact—but those 10 interceptions and a nasty habit of fumbling at the worst possible moments eventually forced Pierce’s hand.
By the time Minshew went down with a broken collarbone in Week 12 against Denver, the depth chart was a mess. Aidan O'Connell stepped back in, throwing for over 1,600 yards and showing some real guts, especially that 340-yard performance against the Chiefs on Black Friday. We even saw Desmond Ridder, who they snatched off the Arizona practice squad, get some burn. It's hard to find a rhythm when your primary signal-caller changes every few weeks.
That Brock Bowers Leap
If there was one bright spot that made fans actually want to turn on the TV, it was Brock Bowers. This kid didn't just play well; he shattered expectations. Most rookies take a year to find their legs. Bowers? He broke Darren Waller’s franchise record for catches by a tight end, hauling in 112 receptions for 1,194 yards.
He was essentially the Raiders' offense for long stretches. While Michael Mayer dealt with his own hurdles, appearing in only 8 games, Bowers became the go-to guy for whoever was under center. Jakobi Meyers remained a steady veteran presence, cracking the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career, but the passing game lived and died by the rookie tight end.
Raiders Roster 2024 Depth Chart: The Starters and Standouts
Looking back at the final solidified depth chart, here is how the primary roles shook out across the board:
The Offensive Core
The backfield saw a major shift after Josh Jacobs left town. Zamir White started the year as "The Guy," but Alexander Mattison ended up taking a huge chunk of the carries, leading the team with 420 rushing yards. The offensive line was anchored by Kolton Miller at left tackle, but it was the arrival of rookie Jackson Powers-Johnson at guard and Delmar Glaze at right tackle that showed where the future is headed. Andre James held down the center spot, though the unit struggled with consistency as injuries piled up.
The Defensive Identity
Maxx Crosby is a superhero. We know this. Despite playing through enough injuries to sideline a normal human, he led the team with 7.5 sacks. But he wasn't alone. Adam Butler was a massive surprise, racking up 5 sacks from the interior.
The linebacking corps was surprisingly stout. Robert Spillane was a tackling machine, recording 158 total tackles. That’s a crazy number. Divine Deablo played alongside him, providing that speed and versatility that Patrick Graham’s 4-3 scheme requires.
The Secondary and Special Teams
Jack Jones and the rookie Decamerion Richardson held down the corners toward the end of the year. It was a "baptism by fire" situation for Richardson, who started 7 games. Tre’von Moehrig and Isaiah Pola-Mao played the bulk of the snaps at safety after Marcus Epps went down.
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And, of course, the "special" in special teams was Daniel Carlson and AJ Cole. Carlson was reliable as ever, scoring 125 points and knocking down 34 field goals. Cole remains arguably the best punter in the league, a weapon that often kept the Raiders in games they had no business being in.
Why the Depth Chart Looked Different in December
The roster you saw in Week 1 was a distant memory by Week 17. Injuries didn't just "hit" the Raiders; they leveled them. Maxx Crosby, Marcus Epps, and Gardner Minshew all ended the season on Injured Reserve. This forced guys like Charles Snowden and Jonah Laulu into starting roles on the defensive line. Snowden actually played quite well, starting 9 games and proving he could be a rotational piece moving forward.
The move to fire offensive coordinator Luke Getsy in November also shifted how the depth chart was utilized. Under Scott Turner, we saw a bit more creativity in how they used Tre Tucker (who finished with 539 yards) and the various tight ends. It was a messy, experimental time, but it gave the front office a clear look at who can handle the pressure.
Actionable Insights for the Future
If you're tracking where this team goes next, keep these three things in mind:
- The Bowers Blueprint: The offense is now built around the tight end. Any future QB acquisition needs to be someone who excels at intermediate middle-of-the-field throws.
- The Defensive Foundation: With Spillane and Crosby, the "spine" of the defense is elite. The focus now turns to whether the young corners like Richardson and Jakorian Bennett can become true lockdown starters.
- The Run Game Identity: The Mattison/White experiment was okay, but the Raiders lack a true home-run hitter in the backfield. Expect that to be a priority in the coming draft cycles.
The 2024 season was a bridge. It was painful at times, but the depth chart reveal revealed some foundational pieces that aren't going anywhere.